Rustoleum incompatibility issues.

[dakota196]

I have just recently painted my Leviathan and I was applying the gloss top coat and look what happened. Crinkled paint. Uggghhh! Now I have to sand this all back down to primer again. This is the second time I had to do this on this rocket! WTF! The yellow is gloss 2x and the clear gloss is 2x. I don’t get it . Both the same brand and both are 2x. The red is perfect. I’m not trying to get a show paint job, but I would like to have a smooth paint surface. Even the primer is Rustoleum. I have had better luck with Krylon! Anybody else have this problem?

 

[lakeroadster]

I have just recently painted my Leviathan and I was applying the gloss top coat and look what happened. Crinkled paint. Uggghhh! Now I have to sand this all back down to primer again. This is the second time I had to do this on this rocket! WTF! The yellow is gloss 2x and the clear gloss is 2x. I don’t get it . Both the same brand and both are 2x. The red is perfect. I’m trying to get a show paint job, but I would like to have a smooth paint surface. Even the primer is Rustoleum. I have had better luck with Krylon! Anybody else have this problem?

You didn't let the paint dry long enough.....

 

[dakota196]

It’s been 2 days. The red is fine. Could it be that I am putting gloss on gloss. The red is semi gloss. Also temps have been in the high 70s and humidity is around 40%. I guess I’ll let it dry for a couple of days and start over.

 

[neil_w]

It’s been 2 days. The red is fine. Could it be that I am putting gloss on gloss. The red is semi gloss. Also temps have been in the high 70s and humidity is around 40%. I guess I’ll let it dry for a couple of days and start over.

Two days is borderline with Rusto 2x. I give at least 4 days, often a full week.

 

[dakota196]

I’ll do just that. I have plenty of time. Recently retired. Just hate to do t all over again. I think I will stick to satin or semigloss if I am going to top coat it. A week wI’ll help.

 

[neil_w]

I honestly doubt the fact that the clearcoat is gloss has anything to do with it, but who knows.

 

[Art Upton]

I had 2X do that on the first coat of itself; I'm now afraid of it.

 

[dakota196]

I had 2X do that on the first coat of itself; I'm now afraid of it.

I am now. I have no problem with semigloss or satin. Works perfect on those, but gloss on gloss. I think it is the drying times. The gloss takes so much longer to dry I guess. I’m clear coating anyway, so it will still be gloss. Gloss will work if I’m not clear coating it.

 

[lakeroadster]

I am now. I have no problem with semigloss or satin. Works perfect on those, but gloss on gloss. I think it is the drying times. The gloss takes so much longer to dry I guess. I’m clear coating anyway, so it will still be gloss. Gloss will work if I’m not clear coating it.

You hit the nail on the head. Gloss takes longer than semi-gloss, semi-gloss takes longer than flat. And all of that has to do with humidity levels.

We have humidity levels in the single digits here.... if I use flat, I can get away with half the drying times. Use flat, and then spray clear on the rocket when your done.

 

[rcktnut]

Patience is of the essence. You need a lot more time between coats. I've always waited at least a week. Much easier to wait than start all over again. I've even mixed different brands of primers with different brands of top coats. Never had a problem.

 

[dakota196]

I guess I will have to wait 4 or 5 days to let this dry and sand it all back to primer and start over again. I really didn’t like the yellow anyways. Maybe all red. Yellow has its place, but not on this project.

 

[Pinetree]

Lots of patience and waiting for optimum weather seems to be the key.

Many thin coats of clear applied either less than 20 minutes or more than 48 hours apart followed by a final coat that's thick almost to the point of runs is what I do (but I'm no expert).

After the clear, I wet sand with 1000 grit and apply Meguires polishing compound, so hopefully any wrinkles with be gone by then.

Good luck.

 

[conneryc]

I had a similar issue painting my LOC 4" IRIS with Rustoleum. When doing successive coats of the gloss white, I waited TOO long between coats. It went down normally but as it dried the last coat wrinkled. So I had to sand it off and shoot it again. With the gloss clear I waited a week before shooting it it and only waited about 30 minutes between coats. But on the last coat I was so done with painting that I just did a heavy coat....and that caused some wrinkles.

 

[Antares JS]

My experience putting gloss clear on top of gloss color is similar. Here's my advice.

Smell your rocket before applying clearcoat. If it smells AT ALL like paint, wait. It may take two to four weeks until you don't smell paint anymore, but you won't get the spiderwebbing. Leave your rocket in a warm, dry place to speed up drying.

I have never had spiderwebbing since I started doing this.

 

[neil_w]

I had a similar issue painting my LOC 4" IRIS with Rustoleum. When doing successive coats of the gloss white, I waited TOO long between coats. It went down normally but as it dried the last coat wrinkled. So I had to sand it off and shoot it again. With the gloss clear I waited a week before shooting it it and only waited about 30 minutes between coats. But on the last coat I was so done with painting that I just did a heavy coat....and that caused some wrinkles.

Normally, successive coats can (and should) be done pretty quickly, say 5-15 minutes. As long as all your coats are completed within 1 hour from the start of the first coat. After an hour, *that's* when you have to wait days (or weeks ) before applying the next coat.

Smell your rocket before applying clearcoat. If it smells AT ALL like paint, wait. It may take two to four weeks until you don't smell paint anymore, but you won't get the spiderwebbing. Leave your rocket in a warm, dry place to speed up drying.

This works but in my experience is extremely conservative. I've found that it takes a looooooong time for the smell to go away completely. I've rarely if ever waited that long and never had a problem. But I do (as mentioned) wait considerably longer than the specified 24 or 48 hours.

Of course if you want to be really really safe, and don't mind waiting, then this is a perfectly good approach.

 

[Art Upton]

Or you can just Pay the price for Duplicolor auto paint which is what I am going to do on the few items I need to paint once the humid part of weather quits.

 

[conneryc]

Or you can just Pay the price for Duplicolor auto paint which is what I am going to do on the few items I need to paint once the humid part of weather quits.

I agree with this. I've always used Duplicolor in the past on my rockets, but I didn't have any when I started back recently and couldn't find any, so went with the Rusty stuff. I had forgotten you have to get it at Auto Parts stores.

 

[Art Upton]

I agree with this. I've always used Duplicolor in the past on my rockets, but I didn't have any when I started back recently and couldn't find any, so went with the Rusty stuff. I had forgotten you have to get it at Auto Parts stores.

Tamiya paint I have also used with excellent results; but the small cans really run out fast

James Duffy recommended it and what I have used on a Der Tundra Desert Max and a Mini Max, and another smaller rocket worked really really well. But at least Duplicolor you can get the larger cans.

 

[dakota196]

I wonder what the recipe is or the thinner is that makes the drying time different. Krylon dries pretty quick

 

[Art Upton]

Also on line: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=dupilcolor&crid=1GNK58X3PT7T2&sprefix=dupilcolor,aps,108&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

 

[Art Upton]

I wonder what the recipe is or the thinner is that makes the drying time different. Krylon dries pretty quick

Krylon has changed their formula many times in the last 15 or so years.

For decades it was 15 min drying Lacquer paint. Pressured with EPA fees for using solvent paint, they keep changing things so much I have had lots of problems with them as well; especially the Fusion and now their version of 2X paint they call MAXX

If you can find the few colors of Kryron Lacquer paint like white, red, and black, I have not had problems with those but they must say LACQUER on the can. Also you cannot spray Lacquer over Enamel paint or it will do what you posted on orange peal.

So far the 2020 Kryron florescent orange and yellow paint I had no issues with. However it does not last in cool dry storage, all the cans I bought back then will not spray anymore , or if they do they spray chunks of paint on your rocket.

 

[Art Upton]

https://www.hobbylinc.com/tamiya-hobby-and-model-lacquer-paint

 

[rcktnut]

My experience putting gloss clear on top of gloss color is similar. Here's my advice.

Smell your rocket before applying clearcoat. If it smells AT ALL like paint, wait. It may take two to four weeks until you don't smell paint anymore, but you won't get the spiderwebbing. Leave your rocket in a warm, dry place to speed up drying.

I have never had spiderwebbing since I started doing this.

And I thought I was the only one doing that!! I was going to suggest but refrained. At one week still smells like nice fresh paint but can really tell that most off gassing is complete, or the amount any way that will allow for another coat/ applying decals without problems. I don't clear coat at all but wait that long before applying any decals,

 

[SolarYellow]

I have so far mostly used Krylon Acryli-Quik purchased from Zoro.com, $50 at a time to get free shipping. It's super easy to work with. Only issue I've ever had was trying to spray hours after a rainstorm in Houston summer. So don't do that.

I will probably be adding some Ace enamels to go over a couple of other enamels where I am stuck with enamel because it's the only way to get a specific color I want.

 

[mh9162013]

What @Antares JS said: use the smell test.

When using 2X Rustoleum or any other spray can paints, I typically wait 4-7 days. Even then, for 2-3 of those days, my rocket is sitting in the warm, dry air getting blown out from my dehumidifier (80 or so degrees F and 20% or lower humidity).

 

[dakota196]

If I ever do another MPR, I will have to wait a week to clear coat. Its been a learning experience

 

[bjphoenix]

I've had so much trouble with Rustoleum that I completely refuse to buy it anymore. I have a lot of rockets painted with it and I've never had any wrinkling, no trouble of that type and I usually wait 24 hours between coats. (My problem has been documented before that I can use a can once or twice and the third time it acts like it has almost no pressure inside.) To finish my last paint project I bought Ace hardware paint.
I have one rocket painted over 30 years ago that I still cannot paint anything else on it without wrinkling. I don't know what was in that paint but if I want to paint it I'll have to use acrylic. Actually I thought about switching all of my painting to acrylic but so far I've been too lazy to break into it.

It seems that most of the wrinkling complaints I've seen here have involved clear. I typically don't use clear although I've thought about trying the Pledge-type stuff. Of course you can't buy that anymore but I saw a plastic modeler on youtube trying a similar product sold by WalMart and he thought it might be a good substitute.

 

[Art Upton]

What @Antares JS said: use the smell test.

When using 2X Rustoleum or any other spray can paints, I typically wait 4-7 days. Even then, for 2-3 of those days, my rocket is sitting in the warm, dry air getting blown out from my dehumidifier (80 or so degrees F and 20% or lower humidity).

So how do you explain orange peal on only a first coat? How to you explain orange peal on waiting a month for a recoat ? I am done with the rust stuff you get at the big box

 

[twoxsheds]

You paint rockets?

 

[bschultz32]

I've heard way too many horror stories about RustOleum 2X paints. I was shopping for some spray paint at Ace Hardware a few days ago. When I espied the dreaded RustOleum 2X cans on the shelf, I quickly averted my eyes and went on to non-2X cans.
My painting strategy is simple: wait WAY longer than asked for on the can. If the need to fly the rocket conflicts with that, I just fly at that event with primer only, or even with nothing at all. There's always a next launch event, at which she can sport her paint job in glory.
I suggest that "minimum drying times" put on spray paint cans are the outcome of a debate at the paint manufacturer. The engineers and technicians there want more time specified. The marketing people want less, because it makes the product sound good. Throw down on the side of the engineers, take your time!
Bob

P.S. The same advice applies to epoxy adhesives. Don't glue your rocket with 5-minute Bob Smith epoxy then spank it with 20 G's 30 minutes later and expect a happy ending. Take yer time, lad!